Moving Mountains
by SwagSammich78
Summary: Huey had always taken time for granted, had always taken her for granted. Why is it that when he sees what he needs it's no longer in his reach? Huey/Jazmine


Hey guys! So I usually don't do stories for The Boondocks, but it IS one of my favorite shows/comics, so why not? Plus, I got the idea from listening to that song "Moving mountains" By Usher, because for some reason it reminded me of Huey and Jazmine (even though they're only ten, aren't together, and show no signs of developing anything). So here goes, and thanks to all the other Boondocks writers on this site whose stories made me decide to write a little something of my own.

Oh, and before I get, anyone who is a reader of my other stories might want to (by might I mean DO IT) go on my user page and take the lovely poll I have up for my regular stories so I can get an idea of what you want updated most when school starts for me. It's being closed on August 21st. So get your butts voting, alright?

Enough with the life story, here goes.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Boondocks. Because...i'd probably screw it up, truth be told :P

* * *

Moving Mountains

"Why are you surprised?"

Honestly, Huey Freemen had no idea how to respond. Even worse, he knew she was right.

He and Jazmine DuBois had grew up together ever since he'd moved to Woodcrest against his will eight years ago. He, the young radical, itching for change that the world seemed so reluctant to give and her, the optimistic, the naive little girl with her head constantly soaring in the clouds. That is, when Huey wasn't there to bring her fantasy of a reality crashing back down to earth.

Now, all those years later, after his bitter words, cutting edge sarcasm, and spiteful behavior towards her, she'd finally learned how to turn the tables. On _him_.

"This is what you wanted." Jazmine was shaking her head, the sharp wind that was gradually building up blowing through her sandy colored hair and causing it to tangled around her face. Like her vulnerable personality, her hair was another thing she had managed to change; she'd kept it straight for at least two years now, give or take the occasional bad hair day. "All you've done is tell me how you don't need anyone. Any friends. Or any family." She tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear, her usually bright green eyes narrowed and cool. "How you don't need me. Are you really surprised that you've finally got what you've been asking for?"

Huey, master of eluding all conversations that had to do with any sort of emotion, couldn't help but let his eyes widen at her last sentence. He didn't expect the sharp pang that he felt cut into his chest with her words and he especially didn't expect her to be so _blunt_. Since when had Jazmine found such a confident voice to speak up against people, against him?

For a moment the coldness returned and he closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of the damp earth that was around them. The hilltop where he and Jazmine had met each day for practically half their childhood, one of the only places he felt at ease in this hellhole, was now his reminder of everything gone wrong. Of everything he hated about this place. Why did he care what Jazmine said? After all, it wasn't exact new; he didn't want friends. He didn't want any connections with anyone from Woodcrest. It made it that much easier for when he had to leave.

And family...well, family had never been a normal thing for him. His parents were dead. His Aunt in Chicago had always been there, but with the distance it wasn't as if he talked to her on a daily basis. And Granddad...

Well, he had been pretty old. It wasn't a big shock to anyone when he'd passed in his sleep a little over a month ago, exactly a month after Huey's graduation. But it didn't make the pain any worse.

So Riley was back in Chicago with their aunt, granddad was no longer around, and all Huey had left of Woodcrest were his packed away possessions, stored in a corner of the barren, empty house he'd spent the latest years of his life in. He had his plane ticket, set to board on an airplane that would take him to Georgia three days from now. It wasn't Chicago, but at least Morehouse might take his mind off of things and help him see a better possible future than the one he was seeing now.

He was moving, and he had no reason to stay where he was. There was nothing more for him there anymore.

But was it what he'd _really_ wanted?

"Jazmine." Huey wasn't one to be at a loss for words. Nor was Jazmine one to cause him to be. This was an odd switch. "I'm-"

"What? You're _sorry_?" Jazmine mustered up so much emphasis on :sorry" that Huey felt ridiculous for even thinking that it would get him out of trouble. Not this time. "Huey, you've been sorry for eight years. It gets old after the first thousand times."

"Then what the hell," Huey said calmly, though his voice was ice cold. "Do you _want _me to say?"

Jazmine sighed, swallowing. Huey could see the tears building in her eyes, the tears she was fighting so hard to keep from falling. "I want you to say something I can actually believe. For once."

"When have I lied to you?" Huey's blank statement caused Jazmine to falter. her eyelids fluttered.

"What?"

"When," Huey repeated, his wine colored eyes boring into hers. "Have I lied to you?" Jazmine absently scratched at the back of her neck.

"Well-"

"Never." Huey leaned back against the tree they were standing under, his trademark Afro flowing with the increasing breeze. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans, his dark blue t shirt wrinkled and flapping along with the wind as well. "I don't lie. Especially not to you."

"And how would I know that?" Jazmine ground out, her eyes hard.

"Because you should know me by now."

Deep inside, Huey knew he deserved this. How long did he think he could go, discreetly mocking and ridiculing Jazmine's lack of knowledge of her culture? Of watching her flop along helplessly and awkwardly during their adolescent years? Of watching her struggle through heartaches and tough times of her life, only to offer her no sympathy, replacing typical words of comfort with realistically harsh speeches, only causing her tears to fall harder? Even worse, she'd always forgiven him.

Not this time. And that was what had surprised him most of all.

He'd taken her for granted. It wasn't something he was proud of, it wasn't something he'd even admit, but he felt it down inside of him, in a deep corner of his gut. It was something he'd have to live with.

But Jazmine...she wasn't making it any easier. He should've known this was a bad idea.

"I'm sorry." Jazmine's hand were slightly twitching in her lap, her eyes averted, staring at the dark clouds approaching over the horizon. "But after all you've said, all you've done...you can't expect me to forget it."

"But you've always forgiven me!" Huey's voice, uncharacteristically high, startled them both. He dropped it down to a whisper. "I never meant it. Any of it."

"You meant it. Maybe you weren't trying to hurt me, but you did." Jazmine looked up, turning her head towards him and giving him a soft smile. "I'm not angry. And I have forgiven you. But I can't forget."

Her eyes were so crystal clear, so honest. Her hair, still twisting and shifting with ther air as if made of the same soft clouds that were often in the sky, danced around her shoulders. The mulatto had blossomed and matured into such a beautiful woman over the stretch of time they'd known each other. how could he not have noticed until now?

"Jazmine," Huey tried again. 'I-"

"Don't say it." Jazmine held up a hand, her soft eyes pleading to him. "Please, just don't."

_You never believe it when I say, and I never believe it when you say, "I love you."_

"Why is it so hard for you to handle what I have to tell you if it's what you've wanted to hear?"

"Because after waiting so long and finally giving up, it just doesn't matter anymore!" Jazmine blurted. "It doesn't matter how you feel, Huey Freeman! I didn't matter to you, so why should you matter to me?"

"You've always mattered to me," Huey said quietly.

"You had a great way of showing it," Jazmine snorted sarcastically.

_And I shouldn't complain about it, I should take it like a man and walk up out it._

He didn't need this. In three days, he'd never see her again. he'd never come back to Woodcrest, never have to hear her talking on and on about something pointless, never have to feel his heart clench when she walked by or feel the corners of his mouth threaten to curl upwards whenever she laughed that infectious laugh of her's. He didn't have to deal with her.

_Girl I know sorry just wouldn't do it. Her heart is obliterated and i'm trying to get through  
Gotta move this mountain, it's like moving mountains...  
But I keep climbing and hoping things would change  
And the sky turns gray and the water from the rain washes progress away  
It's like moving mountains, it's like moving mountains..._

"Maybe I should just go." Jazmine stood up, brushing off the back of her jeans and staring out at the distance, from which a rumble of thunder had just come. "I have a lot of packing to finish myself. Going off to college and all."

Right. Huey remembered, with a sinking heart, Jazmine's excitement over being accepted to NYU. They'd be on opposite ends of the coast within a week. Like the rest of Woodcrest and his childhood, she'd be nothing more than a memory.

Even as he thought about it he realized that it would never be true.

'Say something!' Huey's mind demanded, stubbornly refusing to grasp the reality of his current situation. 'Say anything! Anything to make her stay!'

Huey rose to his feet as well, his tall frame easily towering over her. He gazed down into her eyes, so much more intelligent and understanding than they'd been the first time he'd laid eyes on her. Then she'd been a nuisance.

Now, she was everything. Couldn't she see it? Couldn't she _feel _it, the way he could? Did she have any hint of the sparks that flew between them? The electrical thrill that passed between them with a simple touch of fingers or a simple locking of eyes? Or was it a part of his imagination? The imagination she herself had helped him form?

Huey took a deep breath, sensing Jazmine's body tense as she waited for him to say whatever he needed to. Huey didn't just let someone get away with getting their say and leaving him in the dust. He always got in a word himself. But after a few seconds, he merely shut his mouth, pushing his hands even further into his jeans.

"You should. It's probably going to rain soon."

Jazmine gasped, her eyes wide, her blondish eyebrows rising with surprise. "You...you aren't going to try and stop me?" She asked. Huey glared.

"Why should I? You've made up your mind. I'm not going to stand in your way." As if to demonstrate he stepped aside, gesturing with a hand for her to pass. "You can't have it both ways. You didn't want to hear what I had to say, and what you did hear you didn't want to accept it for the truth it is." As hard as his words were, his voice was still gentle. "I'm not going to beg you."

Jazmine bit her lip, a tear falling from her eyelashes and trailing down her cheek. She looked down. "You're right," She admitted sadly. "You're always right, though. You've always been right." She offered him another smile, despite the fact that both their hearts were breaking. "Always."

She slowly walked past him, heading downhill; another crash of thunder rolled across the hill from the rising storm, still far enough away where they weren't affected, yet they knew it was coming. Turning around one last time, she stopped, her eyes frozen on him.

A second seemed to last for an eternity; Huey found himself drinking in her appearance, as if this were the last time he'd ever see her. 'Wait. It is...'

Her eyes, so torn and sad, blinked at him, her hair fanning out behind her and a slight break in the clouds where the sun shined through causing her to glow like an angel. She wasn't crying, but then again she hadn't cried much since she were fifteen. And being just a couple weeks shy of eighteen, she was far away from being the same girl she'd been then.

"Goodbye, Huey Freeman," she whispered so quietly she wouldn't have been heard if it wasn't for the wind carrying their voices across the clearing. The grass swirled around their feet, a cold front beginning to move in so that they were both slightly shivering. It was only evident after she forced herself to tear her eyes away that she'd been as determined to capture his image in her mind as he'd been to remember her's. Turning around, she jammed her hands in her pockets as well, pushing against the wind as she continued down the hill. Huey watched her leave, his heart dropping in his stomach. He hadn't felt this alone since granddad had died. And even then, the feeling of loss hadn't been as great.

"Goodbye," He sighed as well, blinking against the wind as his sight began to blur. It took a couple of seconds to realize that the cause of his distorted sight were tears.

Honestly, Jazmine _had _been right. he'd gotten himself into this with his determination to form no connection to anyone. Why was he so surprised?

It was ironic, how much pain the words "I love you" could cause. How much they could damage. How easily they could destroy.

And how deeply they could tear two friends apart.

* * *

It was raining.

He was finally leaving Woodcrest, and the last memory he'd have of it would be rain.

Huey pushed the last of his boxes into the moving van he'd managed to get earlier that morning. Ignoring the rain steadily beating down on him he slammed the back door shut, awkwardly standing on the sidewalk beside Uncle Ruckus. "Thanks for the help," he managed to say uncomfortably. Ruckus cackled.

"Anything to get the niggers out of here!" He raved, clapping Huey on his back. "Hell, I was waiting for the day yo nappy ass and that nigga family of yours would finally carry yo black asses back to wherever you came from!"

Huey raised a thick eyebrow. "But...i'm not going back home. I'm going to college," he said slowly. Ruckus blinked, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

"You mean they actually let you heathens into those?"

Huey pinched the bridge of his nose to relieve the urge to punch Ruckus in his jaw. "It's a historically black college, Ruckus. The only all male historically black college in the US."

"Well, who gives a damn?" Ruckus sneered, scratching at his chin. "It ain't like no one important went there."

Huey blinked. "Martin Luther King Jr. went there!"

Ruckus frowned again. "Ain't he the nigga who got shot?"

Huey sighed. "Yeah," he said in a monotone, rolling his eyes. "He's that one." Not even bothering to say goodbye he turned away to stare back up at the sold house he was now leaving, the house his granddad had been so excited to move into. His own piece of suburbia...

"At least he didn't spend _all _my inheritance on it," Huey grumbled. "Eight years here. What a waste."

"Is that how you really feel?"

Huey stopped in his tracks, taking a deep breath before slowly turning around. His eyes widened, but not much.

Jazmine was standing at least a yard away, the rain already soaked through her clothes, her hair plastered to her head. She was holding a cardboard box, taped shut at the top. She shifted uneasily from side to side, her eyes on Huey and not even noticing the grumbling Ruckus mere feet from her. She took a cautious step forward.

"I hope you don't mean that." she stopped again, biting her lip; it was a nervous habit of her's. "Because those eight years were probably the best eight years of my life."

Huey was still frozen, his eyes narrowed warily. The driver in the van was in the front, flipping in a bored way through some magazine. 'Really." Huey shrugged. "You're only seventeen. You probably don't remember enough outside of these eight years to accurately compare."

Jazmine shrugged as well, taking another step. "My memory's pretty good, Huey," she assured him. "I remember the way things were before you came. And i remember how they were after you got here."

Huey glanced around the quiet street, then up at the relentless gray sky, which rain was still pouring from. He let the droplets sting his face before staring back down again. "You should go home," he said, nodding across the street. "You might get sick."

"Yeah, you little mulatto!" Ruckus yelled from his place on the sidewalk. "You go on in the house. Yo white immune system is too delicate to handle nasty weather, unlike that mud colored nigga in front of you. They was made for squattin outdoors."

Jazmine blinked, rolling her eyes at the man before turning back to Huey. "Just hear me out, okay?" She asked, her voice a soft plea. Huey felt his throat close, and he gave her a small nod for a response. She took a deep breath.

"You might have been really mean in the way you said stuff to me," Jazmine blurted, blinking the rain out of her eyes, her hands trembling around the box she was clutching. "And you might've hurt my feelings a lot. But-" She paused. "-I should've realized you were only doing it to help me." She cleared her throat, letting her words sink in before going on.

"I mean, the world isn't a very nice place. it's cruel, and people are mean, and they don't care about you. But not everyone's like that, and I thought you thought everyone's like that, but-" She choked back a small sob. "But _i'm _not like that. and I just wanted you to see that, but then finally when it turns out you didn't i had to go and be mean to do just because of my stupid pride..."

There was a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder shook the sidewalk below them; the rain fell harder. Jazmine's voice rose so that she was yelling over the pounding rain, her tone now desperate.

"And I was wrong!" She hollered, her voice breaking. "I was wrong and stupid and i don't deserve your forgiveness! We've been friends for so long, and I've-" She swallowed again. "L-loved you for so long, I thought we'd never be anything other than friends. And then you just go and tell me you feel the same way and all those bad memories I had caught up and I just felt like you were only saying it because you wanted me to feel better about you leaving or something-"

Huey's eyes were focused on her, his expression blank, yet patient. Jazmine wiped a wet sleeve against her eyes with frustration.

"-and then when I got home all I could think about was you, and I was so mad at you because I'd finally gotten over you!" She was practically screaming now. "But I realized I never got over you, I've always loved you." She looked up, forcing her eyes to meet his stare. "And I still do..."

Her words faded as Huey suddenly ran up to her, closing the distance between them in mere seconds and gripping her arms so forcefully the box fell from her hands; it hit the sidewalk between them, splashing in a puddle. Neither of them noticed.

"Why the hell," Huey asked. "Do you feel the need to talk so much."

Jazmine blinked, her head thudding painfully against her chest. "I-I didn't mean to. I just-"

Huey cut her off. "It was rhetorical."

"Oh." Jazmine gulped. "I'm-"

She was cut off again as Huey brought his lips crashing down against her's, the lightning flashing around them and thunder booming over their heads. Jazmine didn't think as she wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her tiptoes to press herself further into him; he wrapped his arm around her small waist, pulling her into his chest and using his free hand to tilt her chin upward, deepening their kiss.

The rain thudded against them but neither of them noticed or cared; they only focused on the liquid fire that tore through their veins, the static that seemed to burn up their insides. Jazmine's hands were running up and down Huey's chest, his own strong hands running along the curves of her waist, his touch warm against her cold, rain soaked skin. Their kiss was so intense that after a couple of minutes they finally pulled away, slightly panting from lack of air. Jazmine let her head rest on Huey's chest, the sound of his strong heartbeat soothing to her ears. She let her arms fall back down, wrapping them around his middle. "Now what?" She asked quietly. She heard Huey chuckle.

"What's with the box?"

"Huh? oh!" Still dazed Jazmine reluctantly let go of him, bending down to retrieve the box, now damp and slightly soft from its encounter with water. Picking it up she rose again, staring back up at Huey and hoping he didn't notice the color rising on her face. "It's just some things. Of mine. That I hoped you'd take so you don't forget me or anything like that."

"How could I forget you?" Huey shook his head in disbelief. "You sure can be stupid sometimes."

"So can you." Ignoring the glare she received in response she pushed it into his chest, smirking over his shoulder. "I think the guy in the van's getting impatient."

Huey glanced over his shoulder at the driver, now turned back in his seat, but still shooting Huey impatient glares through the window. "I'm paying him. He'll get over it."

Jazmine's smirk widened. "You're going to miss your flight."

"Am not." Huey shifted the box in his arms, gently kissing her forehead. "The house is sold. I'm pretty much homesless until I get to school."

Jazmine pushed her wet hair out of her eyes. "You're going to do great, Huey."

"Yeah." He shrugged carelessly. "Atlanta's pretty busy. But I've always had this thing for New York."

Jazmine felt her smile grow. "I'm going to be there. Who wouldn't love it there?"

"Funny."

The driver beeped his horn impatiently, causing Jazmine to jump and huey to roll his eyes. "Like it would kill him to wait five damn seconds."

"He has been pretty patient," Jazmine reminded him. "At least he hasn't driven off with your stuff." she began to head for the van. "You really should hurry up, though."

Huey sighed, carrying the box over to the van, allowing Jazmine to open the back door for him. As he put it inside and slammed it shut, he heard the driver muttering under his breath "This damn nigga actin like I don't have somewhere to be..."

"So, I guess this is goodbye," Jazmine said sadly. Huey shook his head.

"No. That sounds too final." He took her hand in his. "It's more like a...see you soon."

As he spoke, Jazmine felt something cool and small slide into her hand. As Huey let go of her she opened her small palm, her eyes widening at the diamond ring that lay in her hand. "Huey!-"

"It was my mom's engagement ring." Huey shrugged as if people gave away their parent's engagement rings all the time. "You couldn't give me a boxfull of your stuff to remember you by and i leave you with nothing."

"But you didn't have to." Jazmine couldn't take her eyes off of the twinkling stones, flashing against the golden band. She closed her fist over it again, the tears building up again. "Thank you."

The driver honked, the horn blaring loudly through the air. Huey gave him a quick glance before giving Jazmine a final look. "See you soon," he said, stepping closer and giving her a final kiss. Jazmine let her eyes linger shut even after his lips left her's, even when his footsteps faded away until stopping completely, followed by the sound of a car door opening. Her eyes fluttered open again and she gave Huey, who had turned back in his seat to stare a her, a smile, before blowing a kiss at him. He smiled back as the van started.

Jazmine ran up to his window, knocking on the glass so that he rolled it down. The driver groaned.

"Can I leave now? Shit!"

"Calm down! Give me ten damn seconds!" Huey looked back at Jazmine and his eyes softened again. "You're going to get sick."

"I don't care."

"I do."

The driver gave an exaggerated sigh, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Jazmine ignored him, reaching for Huey's hand and linking her fingers with his. "Are you going to call me when you get there?"

"Obviously."

"And do you promise to call me everyday?"

Huey rolled his eyes. "No."

"Do you promise not to stare at all those sexy women you're going to see in Atlanta-"

"I'm going to an all male school!" Huey snapped, although he was laughing. The driver smirked.

"Did you know there's six women for every straight man in Atlanta?" he said. Huey glared.

"Who asked you?"

"It's okay." Jazmine squeezed Huey's hand before letting go. "We're going to be a long way from each other. Who knows what could happen?"

Huey's eyes searched her's for a moment, but then he settled back into his seat crossing his arms over his chest. "Now you can go," he told the driver. Turning back to Jazmine, he nodded towards her hand still clutching the ring. "You should probably wear that on your ring finger." He shrugged. "Just a suggestion."

Jazmine blinked. "Why?"

"You'll see."

Jazmine wanted to press him further but she knew his flight would be leaving soon. besides, from the looks of it, if she'd interpreted his words right, they'd have the rest of their lives to spend together...

At least, after college. If they could handle the distance.

Jazmine knew that she could handle anything with Huey Freeman. Which was why after he'd rolled his window back up (after yelling at her to get her self in the damn house before she caught something) and the van had pulled away from the curb, their eyes locked until the van disappeared in the distance, she turned on her heel, heading back for home to finish her own packing, a smile still lingering on her face. She loved him. And he loved her.

Unclenching her fist, she took the ring with gentle fingers and slid it over her ring finger, watching it twinkle everytime she moved her hand. She couldn't help but laugh as she crossed the street.

She wondered what her dad would say when _he _saw it.

* * *

End. cheesy, I know. I couldn't help it. so sue me. :p

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Please review!

-Kelsey


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